2 men guilty in electrocution at CTA station

Separate juries found two men guilty of murder today in the electrocution death of a Chicago man who fell onto the tracks during a melee on a CTA Red Line platform.

Maurice Evans, 25, and Antwaun Thompson, 29, were among four young men caught on Roosevelt subway station surveillance cameras kicking and beating Daniel McKenzie, 43, before he tumbled onto the electrified third rail.

Evans briefly buried his face in his hands and shook his head when the verdict was announced. Hours later, Thompson remained expressionless as his verdict was read aloud.

Attorneys for the two argued that McKenzie and his group had instigated a fight on the train that spilled out onto the platform once it pulled into the station in the early morning hours of July 27, 2008. They also said it was impossible to tell on the grainy video whether McKenzie was pushed from the platform, fell or jumped on his own to escape his attackers.

But prosecutors said it didn’t matter. They compared the defendants’ culpability to a game of no-limit poker, saying once Evans and Thompson decided to engage in the beating, they were “all in.”

“You don’t get to later say, ‘Well, you know, I wanted to beat him on the platform, but I really didn’t mean for him to die, so I’m not responsible,’” said Assistant State’s Attorney Kim Ward in her closing argument in Evans’ trial. “You’re all in. You’re responsible for the whole thing.”

Evans and Thompson were tried before separate juries but much of the evidence was heard simultaneously in Judge Joseph Kazmierski’s courtroom. Evans’ jury heard closing arguments first and deliberated for a little more than an hour before reaching its verdict, while the jury in Thompson’s case deliberated nearly three times as long.

Both men face 20 to 60 years in prison when they are sentenced in April. Two others, brothers Martell Johnson and Clint Johnson, are scheduled to go on trial later this week for their alleged roles in the murder.

The video showed Evans and Thompson corner McKenzie at the edge of the platform after he got off the train with his brother and another man. They beat McKenzie with belts and stomped at his head for several seconds while he was on his back trying to protect himself. As he appeared to be trying to get up, McKenzie dropped onto the tracks, rolled once and came to rest with his head against the third rail.

McKenzie died of severe electrical burns a day later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.Thompson’s attorney, Lorne Gorelick, said in his closing argument that two key witnesses called by the prosecution are felons whose testimony contradicted one another and should be dismissed as lies.

He also pointed out that one of the men McKenzie was with just “happened” to have a box cutter in his pocket, which testimony showed he used to slash Evans in the arm during the fight.“What is this guy, a carpenter?” Gorelick asked sarcastically.

McKenzie’s sister and another relative declined to comment as they left the courthouse Monday.